'He is utterly committed when he's on the grass': Joe Schmidt's response to shock captaincy report
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has given a glowing endorsement of Jake Gordon's credentials but stopped short of confirming his ascension to Test captain against the British and Irish Lions.
A shock AAP report this week stated that Waratahs skipper Gordon was set to replace Harry Wilson as captain for the marquee series despite the Reds No.8 doing a good job last year - and NSW again missing the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs.
Schmidt was asked about the report after spending time in Perth with 17 Wallabies hopefuls from the Force ahead of Australia's first Test of the year against Fiji in Newcastle on July 6.
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Jake Gordon passes during a Wallabies training session at Sanctuary Cove. Getty
Gordon was Schmidt's preferred halfback last season.
"Jake, he's one of the leaders in the group, but so is Nic White... and Tate McDermott has been a former captain," Schmidt said.
"Jake has a really good skill-set, mature player, very nice kicking game, one of the sharper passes around and he is utterly committed when he's on the grass.
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Andrew Kellaway, Jake Gordon, James Slipper and Liam Wright of the Wallabies. Getty
"His ability to cover corners and make tackles, involved in the physical stuff he's a multi-purpose sort of player, but at the sharp edge of his game is really his pass/kick, which were very helpful to us last year."
Schmidt will name his first squad once the Brumbies end their campaign.
Stephen Larkham's side plays the Chiefs in Saturday's semi-final in Hamilton.
The Lions, meanwhile, have their first hit-out against Argentina in Dublin on June 21.
"They can play in so many different ways," Schmidt said.
"They can be really physical, they can be square and coming at you.
"They can get you on the edges. They have got the likes of (England winger) Tommy Freeman and (Ireland fullback) Hugo Keenan, who are so good in the air that you're going to have to be good there.
"We can just try to work as hard as we can, to be as well prepared to understand the threats they're going to bring, and be ready to combat them and also to try to put our stamp on the game a little bit, and take the initiative when we can."
The Lions open their Australia tour against the Force in Perth on June 28.
